Jr. Bass Trail produces winners

Several anglers who got their start fishing at Broward County parks have gone on to win major tournament titles

December 13, 2012|By Steve Waters, Sun Sentinel

Bob Newland came up with the idea for a junior bass tournament trail because he wanted youngsters to be able to have fun fishing against each other rather than having to compete against adults with years of tournament fishing experience.

Now, many of the kids who fished those junior events have gone on to have tremendous success competing in local bass tournaments. And they say they owe that success to Newland.

The Broward County Parks and Recreation Division's 15th annual Jr. Bass Trail begins next month. Anglers ages 12-17 accompanied by a non-fishing adult fish from johnboats in lakes at county parks. The cost of the trail is $75.

The tournaments are Jan. 13 and April 21 at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach and Feb. 17 and March 17 at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek.

Newland, a manager at T.Y. Park in Hollywood who can be reached at 954-357-8816 or rnewland@broward.org, has five 12-foot johnboats available to rent at a cost of $15 per tournament.

The rules are typical of most bass tournaments: Anglers can use only artificial lures. They are allowed to weigh in five fish, which are then released alive.

"I tell you, the kids and the dads who do it, they just love it to death," said Newland, who is often amazed at the variety of ways the young anglers figure out to catch fish. "The kids are passionate about it. That's what makes me keep coming back."

Dean Belits said he wishes he could still come back.

Belits, 25, of Sunrise, won three angler of the year titles in five years on the junior trail. He and his father, Kenny, who used to steer the boat and net fish for Dean, have won a bunch of Bass-N-Fools club tournaments. In 2010, Belits and partner Tim Feller won the prestigious King of the Glades title and they have numerous other victories to their credit.

"If I could fish the Jr. Bass Trail again versus any other tournament trail that I've fished since, I'd fish that," Belits said. "It definitely helps prepare you to be a tournament fisherman."

"I learned a lot from it," said Steven Forssell, 31, of Coconut Creek, who went on to win the King of the Glades crown with Rodd Sayler, along with many other tournaments. "It's a good starting point for anyone who wants to get into tournament fishing."

As a kid, Forssell went fun fishing with his father, Hans. It was his father who asked him if he wanted to try fishing the Jr. Bass Trail and Forssell said he quickly became hooked on tournament fishing.

"It opened the door for me," Forssell said. "It was just a great experience all around.

"I never won one, but every tournament I learned something. I learned how to be mentally prepared and to have your boat prepared. Even today, I make sure all my gear is ready."

Belits and his father had fished a few open tournaments and small club tournaments together when he started fishing the junior trail.

"The whole mentality is different than going fun fishing. It kind of forces you to go to a new location instead of going to your same honey hole all the time," Belits said.

"That definitely pushed me to fish more."

Another thing Belits learned: Never give up.

"I can't tell you how many times I caught fish in the last five minutes [of a tournament]," Belits said.